Improvement in portable billiard-boards



Patented Aug. 13,1872.

m. m E V m L. C. PR'INDLE.

Improvement in Portable Billiard Boards.

WITN E55 ES UNITED STATES L. OORYDON PRINDLE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

IMIDROVEMENT IN PORTABLE BILLIARD-BOARDS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 130,39, dated August 13, 1872.

To all whom it may concern:

Be itknown that I, L. OoRYDoN PRINDLE, of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvementin Cabinet Billiard-Boards, of which the following is a specification, reference being had'to the accompanying drawing.

The object of my invention is to make a simple and cheap but durable billiard board, or portable billiard-table top, that can be easily carried and placed upon an ordinary table or other support, and readily leveled thereo'n at a proper height, suitable for playing the game of billiards, and can be conveniently removed from the table and room, if desired, when not in use. The nature of my invention consists in the manner of constructing and supporting the bed-piece of portable billiardtable tops so as to prevent warping, sagging, Ste.; and in the manner of securing the elastic cushions to the rails, and also in providing the billiardboard with adjustable rests, by which it may be readily leveled at a suitable height, as hereafter more fully explained.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 represents a bottom-plan vi ew ofmy billiard-board; Fig. 2, a vertical sectional view of the same taken at the line y y in Fig. 1, together with centralvertical sections of two adj ustablerests and Fig. 3, a vertical section of the rail and cushion on an enlarged scale.

A is a frame of comparatively thin and wide pieces of wood, joined together in the manner of the ends and sides Qf an ordinary desk or table drawer. B are cross-pieces, attached at short intervals to the frame A, the corresponding edges of the frame and cross-pieces being on a true plane. C is a thin wooden top or bed-piece of the billiard-board, which is secured flrmly to the frame and cross-pieces, the whole forming a shallow box, divided into cells or compartments. D is a bottom piece, either partially--as represented in the drawing-or entirely covering the bottom of the frame A, running transversely to the crosspieces and vcorresponding sides of the frame, to which it is secured for the purpose of holding them more firmly in place. E are wooden rails, secured to the frame A by the screws or bolts t', and having a projection, to extend over the edges of the top C; and d is a slot or groove, cut in the inside of the rail, into which l ard. Thebilliard-board is supported upon four of these rests, which are placed upon the table, under and as near to the corners of the board as the size of the table will admit of and is raised yor lowered, according to the height of the table that may be used, and leveled, by turning the screws up or down.

I usually make the billiard-board live feet in length by two feet six inches wide, as that is a convenient size for parlor use; but larger and smaller sizes are sometimes desirable. The bed is covered with billiard-cloth, which is tacked to the frame before the rails are attached. The projecting corner of the cushion should be about one and one-eighth inches above the top of the bed, that depending, however, upon the size of the balls to be used. I usually use suitably-colored rubber cushions, without being covered with cloth; but I sometimes sew or glue billiard-cloth around them before placing them in the grooves.

The chief obstacle to be overcome in constructing a durable portable billiard-table top is the tendency of the frame and bed-piece to warp, wind, and twist, from changes in the temperature and moisture of the atmosphere, and lto sag from their own weight. The paneled bed, and also the bed formed by gluing together thin strips of wood of suitable width, are soon distorted out of true from these causes, the thickness they require to give them rmness making the tendency to warp, &c., more difficult to control. This obstacle I avert by constructing a shell or box billiard-board in the manner described, in which sagging and side twisting of the frame and cross-pieces are prevented by the box form` in which they are joined together, and to the top and bottom boards; and vertical warping or winding of the bed piece is prevented by the frame and large number of crosspieces to which it is attached, together with the projection of the rails.

By attaching the cushions to the 'rails by in- PATENT OFFICE.;

serting them in a groove I not only avoid the complication and expense of the usual method,

besides being enabled to use a thinner rail,

that is more suitably proportioned and adapted to a portable billiard-board, but l am also enabled to secure the cushions firmly in place Without covering them with cloth.

By means ofthe adjustable rests I am enabled not only to level the billiard-board upon an uneven surface, but also to adjust it upon a table much smaller than the board, or too low to be suitable-as is usually the case-without their use.

I claim as my invention- 1. A hollow or cellular portable billiard-table bed, constructed of comparatively thin pieces of wood A B G D, firmly secured together in the form of a shallow boX, A C D,

Witnesses:

N. C. GRIDLEY, F. F. WARNER. 

